The archived blog of the Project On Government Oversight (POGO).

Jun 23, 2009

Don't Do the Dew

Earlier this year, we pointed out that newly appointed FEMA chief of staff Jason McNamara had potential conflicts of interest based on his working for Dewberry, a major FEMA contractor. Due to Dewberry's involvement inside FEMA and in the field, we were afraid that potential conflicts would make it difficult for McNamara to perform many of his job responsibilities.

That letter acknowledges potential conflicts of interest based on McNamara's work for Dewberry and outlines steps to prevent them, including non-participation in Dewberry-related regulations, contracts, meetings and communications. The letter states that the White House is increasing ethics restrictions “to combat the perception that former employers may appear to have privileged access, which they may attempt to exploit to influence an appointee outside the public view.”

Those public perceptions exist because the government continues to close off access to contracting, revolving door, and ethics information. Additional exposure of sole-source contracts adds to the view that dealing with the government is based on who you know, not what you know. Senior Executive Pledge or not, more needs to be done to restore the public's faith in government operations.